Evaluation Q4

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

• Adobe Photoshop CS6

This is a program that I have had experience with in the past, particularly through the course of my GCSE Media Studies course; this was year that allowed me to develop my previously non-existent Photoshop skills through the creation of a 4-page magazine regarding a topic of my choice. This allowed me to really get to grips with the image manipulation and creative aspect involved with the program, whilst also giving me a slight insight into how magazine advertisements are structured, a skill that has come to be very useful in the creation of my own advert for my advanced portfolio. These skills I developed in my GCSE year and over the course of my advanced portfolio are, for the most part, completely self-taught; thus allowing me to see a development of my learning and creativity through a sense of independence, an aspect that is very relevant in the advanced portfolio. Photoshop was primarily used with the creation of my print products (Album artwork, digipak and magazine advertisement), the former's creation was assisted by the use of a digipak template which provided the appropriate measurements needed to be used for the digipak, whilst also giving me a foundation to work off and get an idea of the product I had in mind to create. Furthermore, the poster was created in Photoshop using an A4 scaling; creating both products on Photoshop allowed my to seamlessly link their imagery and scheme to one another through the use of the programs features such as expandable tabs and cloning tools. The creation process of print products and construction of their final pieces juxtaposed with my foundation portfolio, within that year Photoshop usage was few and far between as it was widely unnecessary to use as a creative tool; yet it's use this year as a media technology has been vital to creative expansion and vision for my product. Overall, Photoshop provided to be a very professional tool to use throughout my advanced portfolio; making image manipulation much easier, whilst also being an enjoyable, experimental tool to use.

• Adobe Premier Pro

This is a software that I have previous experience with throughout the foundation project in which I created and directed an short opening sequence to a film called 'Free'; this experience allowed for me to have a very good understanding of the editing mechanisms and generally how the program worked, editing, exporting etc. Although the process can be very time consuming, I feel as if, during my advanced portfolio, I was able to edit more efficiently and accurately, as oppose to AS. Furthermore, I felt as if the use of music in the background of the video itself allowed for more creative opportunities through visual effects manipulation, given the music's instrumentation and lyricism. In comparison to the foundation portfolio, I felt as if I wanted to expand my artistic ability and creative reach with the product; as I felt as if my AS product was fairly straightforward in its editing, little use of any effects and very basic transitions prove this. To supplement this interest in developing my experimental editing skill I used a plethora of visual effects to accompany the music; the use of slow-motion and reversed footage (as a callback to 80s/90s Britpop) and the repeated use of the paint-bucket effect allowed my video to reach a more diverse and visually exciting standard. Additionally, I believe that my skill in editing has improved over the course of the advanced portfolio as I found that I was often battling the difficulty of editing to the beat of the song; this is exemplified multiple times in my music video when the drum beat speeds up and prompts a quick change in editing pace. This newfound attention to detail allowed me to refine my editing technique and overall made a smoother video for the viewer. Furthermore, the programs use allowed to create multiple cuts with varying shots; for example the initial cut lacked any seamless transition form the protagonist returning to his house and was said to be quite jarring from an audience member I used for review. However, after comments from my supervisor, I implemented a 360 degree shots in which the camera rotates around the head of the protagonist and sees them running back to the house; after audience feedback, this was said to be an effective shot and well-edited with the use of the lemon imagery. Overall, I believe that my skill on using this program has drastically increased and when compared to my foundation portfolio, my A2 project is far superior in its editing and visual style.

• Blogger / The Internet

This website is a program that I believe I have a lot of experience in as it was, and is, a very relevant tool in AS and the A2 course. This is perhaps the most important aspect of the project as it allows me to document my research and findings with each post whilst allowing me to use hyperlinks, images and videos. This tool was primarily used in the research in planning process as it allowed for a visual representation of the discoveries I had made regarding music genre, branding and music videos, whilst also providing a platform in which I could publish various planning stages to for my final product. Additionally, it proved to be an effective tool in terms of audience and supervisor feedback through the fact that it can be publicly viewed, meaning it allows for a wider perspective for praise of criticism. The blog also allowed for a platform in which to upload multiple cuts/edits of my project; allowing me to keep a well documented look at the progress of my video. In comparison to AS, the use of the blog is very similar in that it is a platform which provides a space to upload all my research and any ideas I have regarding creative aspects of my project.
Similarly, the use of the internet as a whole was useful throughout my advanced portfolio as it allowed for a wide use of research to formulate the appropriate project that relates to 90s Britpop; this came with the use of YouTube, to research into pre-existing music videos, and various image distribution sites to gain an idea of how professional digipaks should look.

• Shooting Equipment

The camera I used for the shooting of my music video was the exact same as the one used for my foundation portfolio; however, despite this, I believe that my skill in using this piece of technology has improved, this can be noticed in my increased professional handling of the camera and wider variety of shots. I felt as if in the AS project my use of the camera was very amateur and thus made the shots sometimes jarring and perhaps shaky; however, this year, as a result of my criticisms of my camera handling, I sought to improve this through more usage of the tripod and sturdier shots; furthermore, the freedom of shooting a music video allowed for a wider look on creativity and how shots should be taken, the 360 degree shot being an example of this. The filming itself was goof quality as the camera reaches a resolution of 720p, deeming it do be HD, and shot at 30fps; this technology thus provided a solid quality of image to shoot, thus making the video more professional. The camera had a multitude of settings which were adopted in the filming process; one of which being the zoom feature, as this can be seen within multiple shots of my video. I feel as if using this professional equipment has again supplemented my creativity and development as a director as the quality of the camera itself allows one to be placed in the perspective of a media professional. Furthermore, the use of the camera allowed for me to take multiple shoots on different days, allowing for a more diverse editing process so I could have more shots at my disposal. This was a difference I intentionally made within my advanced portfolio, as during my foundation portfolio I often limited the takes I would shoot and would be left with very limited shots when I came to the editing process.

• Prezi/Slideshare

This is an online tool that I have used throughout both my advanced and foundation portfolio, as I believe allows for a visually creative look upon research and information I have gathered. I believe that it is an engaging piece of software, that is open to public usage, and allows a variety to the blog, rather than just blog post. Furthermore, I employed the use of Prezi during the answering of an evaluation question as the format of the software suited the question; the animation aspect of the Prezi allowed for a mind-map appearance to the idea, allowing ideas to be explored effectively. Additionally, the use of Slideshare was useful as it allowed me to present my ideas to the class regarding the initial thoughts for my music video.